offroad optimization
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offroad optimization - 5/23/2006 2:44:37 AM
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Greenblade
Posts: 649
Joined: 3/19/2006
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What are the things you can do to an H2 to improve its off-road abilities without ruining the nature of the truck?
Basically, a lift kit would have pros and cons offroad (higher clearance = pro, higher center of gravity = con) it seems to me, and you'd risk ruining the ride quality and day-to-day niceness of the H2 (and if you did ruin those things, why not just get a jeep and jack it up, put in a 350, and join the clan?)
Extra armor/skid plating underneath would cost you a spot of clearance, and i'm not sure that it would ever be needed, its pretty shored-up down there (if not to H1 levels).
Better parts? stronger something?
Bigger wheels? rims/wheels?
Is any of this proven, or is it sold as "no, it really rocks, you'll love it" just like some other accessories?
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RE: offroad optimization - 5/23/2006 11:03:17 AM
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Greenblade
Posts: 649
Joined: 3/19/2006
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quote:
ORIGINAL: shortbus
the first thing i'd do would be replace the tie rods with something beefier. i'd recommend the fabtech ones. you've got pros and cons with lifts, i've seen them perform worse in snow than stock H2s, and i haven't gone anywhere yet that a lift would have really helped. the stock tires, BFG A/T, are pretty good, but for mud you'll want something more agressive. the BFG M/T is a good tire, but concensus for the best goes to the Toyo Open Country MT, if you can find some place that has them in stock. a front locker would be helpful in a few cases where you're crawling, but i can't say it's necessary for most things.
the lift kits are a little ... shady to me. i don't want to give up the "almost caddy" part of the 3 things i like about this so much, so i'm glad to hear they aren't a world-beating gain.
now, i live in the upper midwest, where we have snow 4 months a year... are the M/T tires going to be bad on slippery roads? the last thing i want to do is run somebody over because my offroad tires wouldn't grip the road. otherwise i think mud tires are a cool idea, although most of the "mud" that i'd typically have access too isn't mud, but soft sod (like in my pictures), and that's a different story. (farmers don't take too kindly to ripping through their tilled fields, so you're usually left to the swamps and stuff). But i suppose mud tires would be better in sod too, huh?
front locker by Eaton - i found this today. http://www.traction.eaton.com/prod1.htm is that one compatible with le hummus? i wasn't remotely traction challenged in any of my playing last weekend.
on a side note, i think alot of why the H2 is basically unbeatable in SCORE racing, and the movies from aftermarket-modded offroading places are all about trick type of stuff... you know, climb that big rock, whatever.
The H2... i cannot imagine that it has any peer at high speed offroading. We drove that thing faster than (i'd honestly wager, and i'm not trying to be inflammatory) any trick-aftermarket-vehicle could go. Theres... there's just got to be precious, precious few vehicles taht could motor down that mangled mess of a trail at 50 or 55 and not have any stability issues - indeed, the ride wasn't that bad, no need for the oh-shyte handles or anything.
And obviously 30" of ground clearance will do things an H2 can't do. different strokes for different folks...
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RE: offroad optimization - 5/23/2006 11:19:02 PM
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Greenblade
Posts: 649
Joined: 3/19/2006
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blizzac (blizzak?) tires are "good" on ice, and probably good offroad by virtue of the sticky rubber?
tread life goes straight to crap above 40 degrees or so, like a few days, and they are expensive,
i'll have to look into the M/Ts.
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RE: offroad optimization - 5/24/2006 2:56:55 PM
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Greenblade
Posts: 649
Joined: 3/19/2006
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i found a few toyo retailers nearby. from bf goodriches site, it looks like you pay a fairly hefty penalty in normal driving for going to M/T... but that isn't your experience?
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RE: offroad optimization - 5/24/2006 4:46:52 PM
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Greenblade
Posts: 649
Joined: 3/19/2006
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quote:
ORIGINAL: shortbus
quote:
ORIGINAL: Greenblade
i found a few toyo retailers nearby. from bf goodriches site, it looks like you pay a fairly hefty penalty in normal driving for going to M/T... but that isn't your experience?
what sort of penalty do you mean? i never had the A/Ts on the bus, when i bought it it already had M/Ts, then i went to the Toyos.
finding a toyo retailer isn't too hard, it's finding the open country M/T that's been difficult. they may have replenished the stock across the country, but they were on backorder for a while.
oh, i get what you mean. i haven't asked about open country M/Ts
from BFGs site they report
All-Terrain T/A
tread wear=7
wet traction=9
quiet ride=7
Handling=8
Winter traction=10
Mud traction=9
Mud-Terrain T/A
tread wear=7
wet traction=7
quiet ride=n/a (so i assume that means its not that great)
Handling=7
Winter traction=7
Mud traction=10 (so its a trade of mud-for-everything else)
Krawler T/A
tread wear=6
wet traction=6 (6 is about the lowest rating i've seen for any BFG tire, so i assume that isn't that good)
quiet ride=n/a
Handling=6
Winter traction=6
Mud traction=10 (so its even more in the same direction...?)
Maybe i can test drive some M/Ts if i can find the Open Countries. Worst case i have some tires to auction on ebay.
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RE: offroad optimization - 5/25/2006 4:50:26 PM
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Greenblade
Posts: 649
Joined: 3/19/2006
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thanks for all the help of late, Short & i'll give some M/Ts a try and see how they work for daily driving.
mostly, more than how to optimize the H2, i think i need tips on how to find places to offroad with it.
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RE: offroad optimization - 5/25/2006 5:14:18 PM
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shortbus
Posts: 3602
Joined: 6/27/2005
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quote:
ORIGINAL: Greenblade
mostly, more than how to optimize the H2, i think i need tips on how to find places to offroad with it.
books, local 4wd clubs, 4wheel parts houses, stuff like that. national forests usually have maps showing where you can go and where you can't, although you may be too wide for some forest roads. better yet, find your closest local hummer club. the point you don't want to forget though, don't go unprepared. get a winch, make sure you've got a good spare, let someone know where you're going, or the best option, never go alone. no matter what you do to your truck, there's always a weak link. one run i went on broke 2 H1s, one went home on a flat bed, the other with only front wheel drive. inexperience, and a willingness to try to help those less experienced, can both cause problems. just try to stay within your limits, you're the only one that can gauge what you can handle. bottom line: tread lightly and have a good time.
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RE: offroad optimization - 5/26/2006 12:35:02 AM
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Greenblade
Posts: 649
Joined: 3/19/2006
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nice pic.
is the WARN winch the one to get? does it impede approach angles / risk getting rammed into a hillside at all?
i'm signed up for a hummer get together in june, but it would be nice to find alot of different kind of places to play int he big truck. and i'll accept the limited ability to sneak down forest trails as a small-loss compared to the ability to rip down open trails at high speed (that was alot of fun) and turn into steep hills (that was also alot of fun). 
the one thing that i don't think i am going to find up here is a hard-bottomed mud hole like the one you're splashing through in that pic. once things get muddy around here, its usually ... feet and feet deep, so if you sink, you're sunk.
on that note, would a lighter vehicle have advantages for mud-bogging? i think alot of why the jeep was so bad in snow was that it wasn't heavy enough to compress the stuff and get some traction the way a pickup can. when winter comes... that will be interesting.
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